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Core decisions

Expansion ports are reasonable in number, although given the flat back of the system and the fact that the screen doesn’t cover it when it’s open it’s a pity Dell hasn’t used the space for a few more USB ports; as it is a single USB 2.0 port on the left-hand edge is complemented by two USB 3.0 ports on the opposite side. You also get an HDMI port on the left and a VGA port on the right, plus a combined headphone and mic socket.

Benchmark Tests

PCMark 7 Results

Longer bars are better

PCMark Vantage Results

Longer bars are better

Build quality isn’t perfect; there’s a reasonable amount of flex in the screen and base. It’s not enough to suggest the Vostro is going to fall apart the first time someone knocks it off a train table, but it’s pretty much the only aspect of the V131 that will give away how little you paid for it.

Minor tweaks in the Core-i5 offerings have increased the clock speed from 2.3GHz to 2.4GHz

The range of options on the Vostro V131 is vast - the cheapest system comes with a frustrating-sounding 1.1GHz Celeron 847 ULV with 2GB of RAM. There's a Core i3-2330M model too, the fastest machine has a Intel Core i5-2430M with 8GB of RAM; other options such as an SSD in place of a mechanical hard disk are also available.

PCMark Vantage Battery Life Results

Battery life in minutes
Longer bars are better

The review sample came with a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M CPU, with 4GB of RAM to give plenty of space to running applications. This configuration has only recently changed on Dell's website, now the Core i5-2430M CPU has come on stream. Still, it’s safe to say that any of Dell’s Core i5 Vostros will be up to virtually anything you can throw at them.